Newcastle University

 Peter Kellett will be working in Africa next semester.  Here he explains why he is going: 

In February I am going to Ethiopia as a VSO volunteer.  Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa (90+ million) and one of the poorest in the world. There is an urgent need to increase the number of professionals who can address the growing problems of housing and urban expansion - so I am going in response to a request from the Ethiopian Ministry of Education for experienced academics in the field of architecture and planning.  Newcastle University has agreed to give me time off - and until September I will be based at Addis Ababa University in the Ethiopian Institute for Architecture Building Construction and City Development (EiABC).  I will be involved in strengthening the capacity of the university to train professionals to address the country's housing needs.  This will be a good opportunity to initiate research projects and carryout fieldwork in a rapidly developing city, as well as foster collaborative research and postgraduate linkages.  This fits well with the University's Internationalisation, Engagement and Social Renewal agendas.  If you would like to know more about the work of Voluntary Service Overseas here is the link: http://www.vso.org.uk/